July 19, 2023

Grazing as a Tool for California Grassland Conservation: SLC’s Eight-year Study Published in Journal of Applied Vegetation Science

Cattle graze in the foreground, Mesa study plot in the background on the right. Photo by Alix Soliman.  July 19, 2023 By Alix Soliman, Communications & Outreach Coordinator We’re thrilled to announce that the Santa Lucia Conservancy’s eight-year study of livestock grazing as a tool for conservation in California’s coastal grasslands has been published in Applied Vegetation Science. Grasslands cover […]

2 min read
July 10, 2023

8 Summer Wildflowers Blooming in the Santa Lucia Range

July 10, 2023 By Andrew Evans, Conservation Grazing Associate This spring and summer, we’ve been seeing an abundance of diverse native wildflowers blanketing our grassy hillsides, poking up out of rocky outcrops, and brightening our lowland meadows. After a wet winter, the seeds of drought-adapted plants that have laid dormant in the soil are springing to life once again.  When […]

3 min read
June 22, 2023

8 Bird Species Found in California Grasslands

A juvenile grasshopper sparrow perches on a twig. Photo by Matt Davis / Macaulay Library.  By Alix Soliman, Communications & Outreach Coordinator The grass is reaching up to our hips, catching the morning dew, and dripping it down our pant legs into soggy boots. It’s 6:30 a.m. on a cloudy morning in late May. Wildlife Biologist Mike Stake has set […]

7 min read
May 8, 2023

California Clovers: Unsung Heroes of the Meadow

Featured Image: The rare Pacific Grove clover (Trifolium polyodon). Photo by Alix Soliman. By Andrew Evans, Conservation Grazing Associate Clovers are the underdogs of wildflower world. Standing shorter than your hiking boots, often with small flowers, many wildflower lovers miss the stellar diversity of native clovers in California. The Preserve has 13 closely related native species, nine of which are […]

6 min read
March 29, 2023

12 Spring Wildflower Species Blooming in the Santa Lucia Mountains

March 29, 2023 By Andrew Evans, Conservation Grazing Associate  Having received more than 54 inches of rainfall on The Preserve so far this water year (from October 2022 to September 2023), we’ll be seeing an abundance and diversity of wildflowers not frequently seen on The Preserve. The seeds of drought-adapted native wildflowers have laid dormant in the soil, waiting for […]

4 min read
October 20, 2022

SLC Conducts Successful Prescribed Burn on San Francisquito Flats

CCPBA participants lay flames down on thick stands of invasive Harding grass. Photo by Michael Troutman / DMT Imaging. October 20, 2022 By Alix Soliman, Communications & Outreach Coordinator On Sunday, October 16, the Santa Lucia Conservancy conducted a successful prescribed burn in Carmel Valley totaling approximately 65 acres with cooperation from the Central Coast Prescribed Burn Association, the Santa [...]
2 min read
September 7, 2022

Before & After: Conservation Grazing on the Flats

Andrew Evans steps over the single-wire fence into the San Francisquito Flats pasture. Photo by Alix Soliman. September 7, 2022 By Andrew Evans, Conservation Grazing Associate Eating an estimated 1,051,200 pounds of forage each year, the Conservancy's herd of cattle manages disturbance in The Preserve’s prairie ecosystems across a 2,800-acre footprint. Adapted to fire, our grasslands need disturbance to remove [...]
4 min read
July 21, 2022

Field Notes: Highlights from the 2022 Seasonal Restoration Crew

2022 crew members pull Italian Thistle in the Enchanted Forest on The Preserve. Photo by Jackson Brooke. July 21, 2022 By Jackson Brooke, Restoration Manager, and the 2022 Seasonal Restoration Crew When the Santa Lucia Conservancy launched the Grasslands Initiative in 2019, one of the goals that we set was treating 500 acres annually for invasive species. To achieve this [...]
6 min read
April 28, 2022

April 2022 Newsletter

Blooming native wildflowers are evidence of a job well done by our seasonal restoration crew. Photo by Jackson Brooke.  Within the 20,000-acre Santa Lucia Preserve exists a mosaic of oak woodlands, redwood forests, grasslands, chaparral, ponds, and streams. One of the most important facets of the Conservancy’s work is maintaining and enhancing these natural habitats which provide food, shelter, and migration [...]
1 min read
February 28, 2022

What Does Applied Ecology Look Like on the Santa Lucia Preserve?

Conservation Ecologist Dr. Brian Woodward conducts a raptor survey on The Preserve. Photo by Alix Soliman. February 24, 2022 By Dr. Brian Woodward, Conservation Ecologist Driving through The Santa Lucia Preserve, you may see Conservancy staff wading through ponds, crouched in a field looking closely at budding flowers, or gazing through binoculars at soaring raptors. To manage biodiversity and ecosystem [...]
5 min read
February 15, 2022

The Field Season Has Begun, Meet Our 2022 Restoration Crew

The 2022 Seasonal Restoration Crew. Photo by Jackson Brooke.   February 15, 2022 By Jackson Brooke, Restoration Manager In 2019, the Conservancy launched its Grasslands Initiative after a rigorous assessment of the ecological health of The Preserve identified the 5,275 acres of grasslands as both an incredibly significant ecological asset and in dire need of restoration. The goals of the Initiative [...]
2 min read
January 24, 2022

Preserve Resident’s Stormwater Collection System Creates Drought Resilience in the Arid Oak Savanna

Kate Kennedy's stormwater collection tanks at her home on The Preserve. Photo by Joe Fletcher. January 24, 2022 By Alix Soliman, Communications & Outreach Coordinator On a foggy afternoon in December, I drove up to The Preserve and parked next to three massive tanks that make up Preserve Resident Kate Kennedy’s 30,000 gallon stormwater collection system. Kate’s home is known [...]
2 min read
January 14, 2022

Honoring Leslie Dorrance’s Conservation Grazing Legacy

Leslie Dorrance, Dr. Rodrigo Sierra Corona, and Leslie's dogs take a break in the sun.  January 14, 2021 By Dr. Rodrigo Sierra Corona, Director of Ecological Management To create our Conservation Grazing Program from the ground up, the Conservancy needed a very special person. Someone with a deep knowledge of the land, an incredible mastery of cattle behavior and personalities, [...]
3 min read
December 29, 2021

Before & After: Tackling Invasive Teasel in 5 Photos

A patch of invasive teasel west of Cienega Pond on the Santa Lucia Preserve earlier this year. Photo by Jackson Brooke.  December 29, 2021 By Jackson Brooke, Restoration Manager In this post, we’ll take a look at some photos of our work with teasel (Dipsacus fullonum), one of the Conservancy’s Zero Tolerance Species of invasive plants. Plants on the Zero [...]
4 min read
November 18, 2021

SLC Publishes Conservation Living Guide for Preserve Residents

The newly published Conservation Living Guide for Santa Lucia Preserve residents. Photo by Alix Soliman.  November 18, 2021 By Jamison Watts, Executive Director We’re thrilled to announce that the Santa Lucia Conservancy will be releasing the Conservation Living Guide for Preserve residents next week! Born from an imperative to foster a comprehensive understanding of what it means to live in [...]
1 min read
November 3, 2021

Prescribed Fire Planned for Nov. 7 on the Santa Lucia Preserve

Members of staff from the Santa Lucia Conservancy participated in the 2018 Tassajara Fire Training.  November 3, 2021 By Alix Soliman, Communications & Outreach Coordinator On November 7, the Santa Lucia Conservancy and Central Coast Prescribed Burn Association (CCPBA) plan to conduct a prescribed burn on The Santa Lucia Preserve, just off of Rancho San Carlos Road in Carmel Valley. [...]
4 min read
October 20, 2021

It’s Going to be a La Niña Winter, Here’s What to Expect on The Preserve

How winter weather in the U.S. is impacted by El Niño and La Niña. Infographic courtesy of NOAA. October 20, 2021 By Jenna Allred, Senior Manager of Climate Change Adaptation With winter just around the corner, The Santa Lucia Conservancy is planning next year’s land management projects and priorities. As current and future climate conditions control all we do on The [...]
5 min read
September 15, 2021

SLC Places Climate Change Adaptation at the Fore, Promotes From Within

Restoring grasslands and oak savannas across The Santa Lucia Preserve is a crucial component of the Conservancy's wildfire and climate change resilience efforts. Photo by Bill Guion. September 15, 2021 By Jamison Watts, Executive Director The Santa Lucia Conservancy remains steadfast in its mission to protect and steward the unique natural and aesthetic resources of the Santa Lucia Preserve while [...]
2 min read
August 31, 2021

Before & After: Eradicating Pesky French Broom in 8 Photos

A thick stand of French broom before the field crew removed it at Penon Peak Gate. Photo by Jackson Brooke. August 31, 2021 By Jackson Brooke, Restoration Technician In 2019, the Santa Lucia Conservancy began implementing the Grasslands Initiative, an ambitious effort to manage and restore roughly 5,000 acres of grasslands on The Santa Lucia Preserve through invasive species management, [...]
5 min read
August 24, 2021

Field Notes: Reflections on Grassland Restoration

Mary Snook hand pulls weeds in the Enchanted Forest in July. Photo by Alix Soliman. August 24, 2021 Mary Snook, 2021 Field Crew Member  In April, we took a trip to Penon peak. We walked in a line to hear the results of the most recent plant surveys, and to learn about some of the successes we had seen so [...]
2 min read
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